Just over eight-hundred years ago, the crippled sleeper ship Hispania and her passengers arrived in a then-unknown system, today known as Omicron Alpha. They found themselves stuck on a planet that was very ill-suited to supporting human life, and their first and only goal was to survive. On their new world of acidic oceans and plains, these Outcasts managed to carve out a place for themselves, and form a society which not only met the daunting challenges of survival head-on, but was able to evolve into a true nation. While Maltese society "works" - it has its own order and idiosyncratic sort of overall stability - it seems, to outsiders, extremely harsh and unforgiving, much like Malta itself.

As such, it was inevitable that conflict with the other, luckier, more successful Houses would occur. Obvious from the outset that they could never win through brute military force, the Maltese fittingly developed more cruel tactics, using their own lifeblood as a weapon. As soon as the jump holes to the Taus and the Sigmas were discovered, it was known to all what must be done. Cardamine convoys began to rush into the border worlds, and from there into the inner systems of Sirius, flooding the rest of the galaxy with the orange dream that powered the frighteningly-agile beast of the Maltese economy. The Outcasts would claw their way to the top eventually, whether through diplomacy or through a great, torrential storm of orange that wipes away all opposition, so that Malta's children could seed the fertile land left behind.

Those who owned the plantations producing the marvellous drug became fabulously wealthy; not only did they have more digits of nines and zeroes in their bank accounts than their countrymen, but they possessed great human and social capital as well. With time, their influence grew to encompass every facet of Maltese society. No more would the ad-hoc ministries of government, established by regional councils of citizens or dons long dead and propped up as much by custom as by legitimate authority, stand in the way of ultimate profit. The cartels came to utterly dominate every single part of Maltese life. While, again, to outsiders, this seems an incredibly oppressive, unfair, and extraordinarily unstable system, the few abortive attempts at revolution to instill a more centralized authority in Omicron Alpha have always met with failure; truly, it would seem, the Maltese are mostly content with this cutthroat culture, and it's served them well so far.

Despite the previous successes of the Outcasts, however, there are always those who yearn for more. Just because one has come a long way doesn't mean one should rest on their laurels and cease trying to improve. With this in mind, some influential members of Maltese society justify their own scheming, arguing that only they have the vision and the will to bring Malta forward. On occasion, some daring few throw their lot in with each other, so as to crush mutual enemies or, on even rarer occasion, work justly and truly for the benefit of all Maltese everywhere. These attempts are often fraught with the distrust and betrayal they were nominally made to avoid, but sometimes they really bring various families and syndicates together, despite competing interests. The most recent of these efforts is the National Council of Malta, styling itself as a popular, conservative front to maintain Maltese traditions in the face of a hostile and changing galaxy.

The National Council of Malta (also known as the NCM, NC, and Maltese National Council) is a council formed in 823 AS by influential Maltese personalities who are united in opposition to the Maltese status quo. After the Council of Dons ceased to exist, the smaller families and syndicates of Malta began to consolidate themselves into small but numerous councils, usually with members of the nobility at their head. At first, the only goal of these councils was to secure their own influence in a rapidly changing world. Slowly but surely, they grew into true political movements, almost invariably with a distinctly conservative bent. Despite the new addition of domestic political rhetoric, the councils still mostly focused their real efforts at increasing their own profits.

However, the ideological undercurrents of nationalism were not to remain dormant forever; by now, the consolidated nobility had a better idea of the national interests of Malta. Along with the constant efforts to increase their own income and power, some families, or sometimes individuals, began to feel strongly a patriotic duty to Malta. Even so, discerning true patriots from conniving plutocrats remained a difficult task. In the wake of this, the National Council of Malta was formed as the union of the disparate local Maltese opposition, with strong support from former political exiles who decided to return to Malta, in some cases in flagrant disregard to the current order. As their influence extends and former enemies and exiles return, throwing their lot in with each other, the National Council has only continued to grow in power.

Naval Assets

Sixteenth Maltese Defense Flotilla: Originally formed from the private militias of various families, the 16th Flotilla is the main armed force in the hands of the Council. Normally the forces of the Flotilla are spread all over the Sirius securing the local interests of various families; piracy and escort services for the cardamine convoys are its mainstays. However, in emergency situations or during pre-planned military operations, the Flotilla’s forces quickly combine and coordinate as a proper military. The current flagship of the Flotilla is the MNS Scarlet Dawn, under the command of colonel Cristina Martelli-Bloodrose.

Sixty-Eighth Special Operations Wing: The 68th is responsible for intelligence and espionage activities outside of Malta. Sabotage and strikes against especially important targets are a large part of this wing’s responsibilities. While there is little public information regarding its structure, private reports indicate that most of its members are born-and-bred Maltese that were previously exiled for political reasons, though there are also operatives who owe their direct allegiance to various families. There are rumors that some 68th operatives are also working on Malta, spying on business competitors and even performing assassinations. its current mobile base of operations is the recently-rechristened MNS Lilith (formerly known as the Maltese Exile flagship MNS "Spirit Fire") under command of Enma Loyola.

Civilian Assets

Atlantis Manufacturing: In most societies, there exists a stark contrast between what is "civilian" and what is "military". Traditionally, Maltese society has greatly blurred the line between these two, but Atlantis Manufacturing represents a major step in the other direction. Founded in the closing months of 822 AS with the mission to establish a reliable and effective trade and shipping network that spans the Omicron systems, bringing much-needed prosperity and supplies to the civilized Freeports and Maltese citizens, AM has rapidly grown, more than outpacing initial expectations. With the establishment of dedicated armament production facilities, and establishing effective financial control over an entire province in northern Malta, Atlantis attracted the attention of several influential nobles and syndicate leaders, and the National Council took a huge risk by investing billions of credits into the corporation in exchange for a controlling interest in its management.

Goals and Objectives

• Protection of the legitimate claims of Maltese nobility.• Protection of the interests of the Maltese Nation in every corner of Sirius. • Maintenance of order and traditional Maltese values. • Furtherance of Malta's economic development based on her families and syndicates.• Development of non-cardamine sectors of the economy.• Improving the Maltese birth rate by using latest scientific achievements.• Ensuring freedom of religion.• Ensuring freedom of political activity for the nobility.• Secure the systems which border the Maltese homeworld. • Radical reform of the educational system.• Revival of national cultural traditions.• Development of the Maltese scientific potential.• Cooperation with foreign scientific and medical centers.• Development of diplomatic relations with potential and existing foreign partners.• Overcoming the political isolation of Malta. • Achieving military defeat over all overt and covert enemies of Malta.

(06-13-2016, 08:52 PM)Durandal Wrote: Thanks for once again omitting my faction from your diplomacy whilst including the Crayter Republic, Coalition, Core, and Exiles.

Still, I do hope it won't be dead in six months. Outcast factions seem incapable of sticking around these days.

I really wasn't sure where to place the Legion so I have decided to state it after some interactions. If you are temped to make it hostile so be it (despite some clashes I don't think that it will look like a war to us).